


Chances

by arigato_sasusaku



Category: Naruto
Genre: ALL the tags, Amnesia, Angst, Bitterness, Coma, F/M, Post War, Post canon, Regret, Team 7 - Freeform, narusasu friendship, still working out how to use ao3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-13
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-26 11:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/965549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arigato_sasusaku/pseuds/arigato_sasusaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fate only gives you so many.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

x-x-x

"Yeah! How does freedom feel, Sasuke-teme!" 

Smirking slightly, Sasuke attempted to untangle himself from the blonde’s enthusiastic grasp - though, it didnt seem as if the arm around his neck was going anywhere. 

"Dobe." 

10 months after the War, Sasuke was finally released from his incarceration.

It had been a quick, spur of the moment decision on the battlefield for him to return - in fact, the boy barely recalled the moment when the words left his mouth. But he did remember the way Naruto had stared at him before smiling so brightly, he found himself wondering how he possibly found the energy in the middle of such a grueling battle. 

He hadnt experienced any post-win celebrations to finalise his decision - for the moment the fatal blow was dealt, Sasuke had finally allowed the exhaustion to consume him and dropped to his knees, out cold before his body hit the floor. 

From then, he can only assume someone healed him and they imprisoned him as soon as he was able to survive such conditions without the possibility of dying. 

"You know what you need now?"

"To go home?" He replied wryly, barely glancing at the boy hanging off his side.

"No! Ramen of course!" 

Scoffing but relenting, Sasuke allowed the boy to drag him down the oddly familiar path towards Ichiraku - the ramen shop somehow being the only stall in Konoha that had managed to stay in almost the exact same place after Pein’s attack.

During his time spent in his cell, Sasuke had wondered if his release would be like this. He wondered if everyone would welcome him back with open arms, forgive him for all the things he had done in the past. He couldnt deny that forgiveness was the more attractive option, despite how much his mind screamed that didnt deserve it.

Too many times had his mind wandered to what would happen if instead of stupidly bright smiles and playful punches on the arm, he was met with a disappointed gaze and an empty space on either side of him where his team mates used to reside.

He didnt  _need_ them anyway but Sasuke couldnt deny that the idea of at least there being a few people (only a few, only the ones he …once cared about) to make the transition back a little easier wasnt a bad one.       

But it seemed that the niggling worries that caught him unaware at night were pointless as Naruto was soon clumsily shoving him onto a familiar red stool, the nostalgic smell of ramen filling the air.

Though…there was one thing about his return that Sasuke hadnt expected.

"Two miso ramen, please!"

_Two._

 And it came in the form of an empty seat. 

Sakura hadnt been there like the dobe had, she hadnt been waiting outside the doors as Ibiki shoved him into freedom. Had it been too naive of him of to assume she’d be there? In his mind, she had always been the one to greet him.

On the battlefield, Sakura had been surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly considering their previous encounter) the first to ask of his intentions but he thought she had settled back into old ways when Team 7 came together one more. The way his name was cried in surprise was both familiar and nostalgic and he couldnt be sure, but Sasuke had thought he had spotted that typical flush across her cheeks. 

But she wasnt here now and the distant feeling of disappointment was pushed away and buried before the boy could really recognise the emotion that had made his lips pull downwards. 

"Sasuke…" Naruto’s hesitant tone, so unlike a few moments ago drew his attention away from his thoughts and Sasuke glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye.

"I need to talk to you about Sakura-chan…" 

Ah, so here it was.

Perhaps he was about try to explain her actions or therefore lack of them. Come up with some ‘she’s just busy!’ bull shit to condone her absence. He wasnt even  _looking_ at him, for kami’s sake. Naruto was instead staring down at his bowl, swirling the noodles, a twisting to his lips as if contemplating what to say. With a bitter after-thought, Sasuke realised he had never seen Naruto struggle to find words before. 

It was shocking how quick any lingering disappointment was to fade and be swiftly replaced with annoyance,  _anger._ Wasnt Sakura supposed to be strong now? Her prowess on the battlefield had already convinced him that she was a formidable kunoichi, Sasuke had already seen her growth with his own eyes.

So where was the kunoichi? Why was she leaving her battles to Naruto, and hiding from him like some weak, pathetic child? 

Could she really not face him?

"What?" He found himself biting out and a venomous sort of half-smirk twisting his lips as his eyes fell back to the food in front of him, "She finally decided to hide from me, huh." 

The bitterness he felt was astonishing and it would have taken him by surprise if he hadnt been so preoccupied with the subdued anger bubbling so comfortably under his skin. 

Sasuke wondered what it was. He wondered whether it was fear that made her hide so pathetically or whether it some sort of new feeling of self-worth that he was no longer worthy of her company, of her presence. Both ideas left a bitter taste on the back of his tongue and allowed his resentment to grow silently. 

"Sasuke…" He couldnt quite put his finger on the emotion in the boy’s voice. Pity? Sadness? Surprise? Whatever it was, its not as if  _cared_ for it anyway. Instead, the Uchiha’s eyes drew back to the blonde, the twist still at his lips and the knowing glint in his gaze.

"I’m surprised it took this long," He said lowly, a considerably sadistic part of him commenting that it only took three attempts to end her life and a handful of scathing post-war comments to be rid of her. 

"Sakura-chan’s at the hospital," Naruto blurted suddenly, looking at him with dejected cerulean eyes that he didnt understand. 

What? So she was hiding herself away at the hospital?

So it  _was_  as he thought, after all.

Sasuke didnt want to give him the opportunity to spout the so cliche ‘shes too busy to see you’ crap, a retort already burning on his tongue, "Hn,  _I dont_ -“

"Madara hit the medic nins pretty hard at the end," Naruto shook his head and Sasuke found himself frowning.

At the end? End of what? What was he talking about? 

_Madara hit the medics-_

Wait-

"Sakura-chan hit her head pretty hard. Baa-chan tried to heal her but there was so much blood-" The was a clear crack in his voice and as Naruto lowered his now glassy eyes away from him, the pieces were beginning to fall into place for Sasuke.

"They couldnt wake her up, Baa-chan’s still trying but she just hasnt and-" A sharp turn of the boy’s head away from him wasnt enough to conceal the way Naruto quickly swiped at his eyes.

With a quick shake of his friends head, the Uchiha boy finally understood. 

Sakura wasnt ignoring him, avoiding him,  _hiding_ from him. 

She wasnt even conscious. 

And just like that, with a heaviness already settling in his gut, Sasuke wasnt angry any more. 

x-x-x


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the follow up and once again, there may possibly be another after this one~

x-x-x

He never stayed long enough to sit.

Sasuke stood motionless at the end of her bed, never going any further than her ankles. He didnt need to. He could see her perfectly fine from where he stood.

Its not as if he spoke to her and its not as if she’d be able to hear him anyway. Every day was the same - everyday he would stare, subconsciously check she was breathing and then he would leave.

Gaze flickering to the machine beeping incessantly next to the girl’s bed, Sasuke concluded that today was like every other. It had been 3 weeks since he had found out about her… _condition_ and nothing had changed. The nurses had said the scans showed improvement but the boy couldnt help the suspicion that crept into his gut that told him they were lying - probably to placate Naruto.

With one more jump of the green line on the ECG, Sasuke’s gaze drew sluggishly back to the girl laying in her bed.

Sakura looked the same - her hair was still an obnoxious pink and her skin was still pale but now, the pink was a little more lack luster than he recalled and her skin a little more uneven in tone.

Or perhaps that was his imagination.

It hadnt taken him many visits to realise he might have been comparing the exuberant, barely teen girl of his genin days to the grown kunoichi lying comatose in front of him. To some extent, it irritated him that he couldnt recall taking in her appearance during the war - purely for the fact that if he had, he would have some newer visual information to compare to.

A few barely lingering glances didnt translate into his long term memory apparently.

With one more glance, Sasuke knew he had already stayed longer than usual. He should leave.

She wasnt any different. Still unmoving, still  _comatose._

Though before the boy had taken three [steps](http://arigato-sasusaku.tumblr.com/post/64242868244/continuation-of-coma-prompt-combo-with-another) towards the door, an ear piercing beep sounded through the room, making his spine straighten and head snap to the source. Immediately, his wide eyes shot to the monitor next to the girl’s bed - alarm beginning to course through his veins as he noted flatline.

She wasnt-

The way his stomach lurched and muscles tensed was unexpected and Sasuke found himself frozen at her bedside - the deafening noise filling the room. That noise, it meant that-

Why was no-one  _helping?_

However, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, an unfamiliar nurse came bursting into the room, rushing to the other side of the bed and completely ignoring the boy who stood frozen in place, following her every movement.

When her actions seemed more pronounced - slow even - Sasuke felt an unadulterated sort of anger bubble under his skin. It was vicious and venomous and he suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to demand what the fuck she was doing hovering by the machine, why was she taking so long when the girl in the bed,  _Sakura_ , was _dying_.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, a pain shot through his eyes and Sasuke was forced to bring his palms to his face. Though, the pain didnt stop his ears from suddenly picking up on the deafening quiet to the room - no scuffling of feet, no high pitched flat line.

Feeling something lurch in his gut once more at the silence’s implications, Sasuke forced his eyes open - ignoring the way they throbbed.

"Uchiha-san, you shouldnt be using your sharingan so early after recovery,"

Blinking, the confusion on his face must have shown for as soon as his narrowed gaze shot from the nurse looking so concerned at  _him_  to the girl laying no different in the bed in front of him, the other woman spoke once more.

"Gomen, perhaps no-one told you," She said with an apologetic smile, "Some of our machines are faulty. Sometimes they play up. Sakura-chan is perfectly fine. She’s doing a lot better actually, lots more brain activity."

Sasuke blinked once more before he sunk into the chair behind him, the air feeling as if it had just been simply pulled from his lungs - not caring about the nurse as she negated the room, slipping out with once last check of the machine.

He couldnt take his eyes from the girl’s face and the boy let out a long breath he hadnt been aware he was holding. Posture slack, he ran a frustrated hand through the long, lank spikes that hung over his forehead - chancing one more glance to the apparently faulty ECG.

The relief he felt was unfathomable.

In those split seconds, with the flatline sounding, Sasuke had felt more helpless than he had allowed himself to be in a long, _long_  time. Looking to her face, so plain and unresponsive, Sasuke frowned.

He hadnt known he cared so much.

The possibility of Sakura dying had never occured to him and it took once event to realise he didnt want it.

Sasuke didnt know why but she couldnt die, he didnt want to her to.

He recalled Naruto tears at Ichiraku and his own scathing comments, guilt creeping up and settling uncomfortably in his gut. It wasnt a feeling he was accustomed to and a part of him wanted to dislike her for it.

It would be _her,_ of all people to irritate him like this, to annoy-

Though as soon as the thought came, a bittersweet sort of nostalgia overwhlemed him and the boy glanced away - onyx eyes sharp and narrowed.

"Annoying." He murmured under his breath before stealing a glance back at her.

Sasuke wasnt used to this. Watching over others in the hospital didnt feel natural and it certainly didnt feel natural for it to be an ex-team mate.

In their genin days, their roles were usually reversed - a memory that left a bitter taste on the back of his tongue. Never was it Sakura whom was hospitalised. She was always the one to persistently hover at his bedside - leaving pointless flowers and bringing him unnecessary fruit segments.

He hadnt done those things.

Once more, his mind reminded him that he had stayed longer than usual but this time, with the sound of the flatline seemingly burnt into his memory, Sasuke didnt move. Though, he didnt know why.

Perhaps it was guilt or some sort of akin feeling.

Sasuke’s gaze fixed on the empty space on her forehead, where the Yin seal used to reside. He had dismissed her help on the battlefield. The boy hadnt needed her care, he didnt like the way she fell back into place beside him so easily and Sasuke had no qualms with speaking his mind.

Though only a few words were spat, he could still recall the way she had recoiled - frustratingly emotive green eyes narrowing in hurt before another blast had sent them their separate ways.

It was the last time he had seen her before  _this._

She had been so willing to accept him back.

At first, Sasuke was almost pleased with the way she doubted his intentions - it was what made answering her first so much easier.

But after that, more smiles had been directed his way, more softened gazed and he was not blind. The girl had been too willing to help him, to waste her chakra on healing him - looking at him with such worried eyes, Sasuke could barely stomach it.

He hated it.

Sakura still cared for him more than he could comprehend and it made him feel…-

Sasuke sighed, directing his scowl to her bed covers.

He didnt understand it.

Her affection for him had always been obvious when they were children but it was only when the delicate girl had started putting herself in harms way to protect him had he realised the extent of it. The unnerving sense of feeling broken bones shift under his grasp as he caught her falling hundreds of the feet from the ground, finally released from the sands grip, would be forever burned into his memory.

Screamed confessions on a moonlit street and repeated confirmations on the battlefield were also beginning to seep out from the crevasses of his mind, from where the boy had pushed the memories away so prevalently.

At one time, Sasuke could admit to himself that he had cared for Sakura (for Naruto too). She became someone precious to him - though how much he tried to avoid it happening. It couldnt be helped. The girl somehow managed to get under his skin, to get him to care about her.

Perhaps…perhaps in Obito’s ideal world, her heart would finally get what it wanted.

His reaction to a simple faulty monitor confirmed to himself that perhaps Sasuke still cared more than he allowed himself to believe - whether he understood or not.

But settling his gaze on the paleness of her cheeks and the way her eyes were closed so softly, it was obvious it was all but a pipedream - if that.

He could never allow Sakura that close again.

Too much had happened over the years and in his eyes, he had broken bonds beyond repair. Naruto was understanding and insults or poison words seemed to bounce off the blonde without much repercussions.

Sakura wasnt like that.

Everything about her screamed delicacy to him and Sasuke didnt question that her fragile appearance probably transferred to her emotion state.

No, too many incidences had happened and too much trust had been broken. Perhaps they could be team mates, by some stroke of miracle, but no, nothing more.

His thoughts wandered to darker places as a his eyes tiredly wandered the contours of her face and the strands of ridiculous coloured hair that framed her forehead before dropping to the bed.

Sasuke had managed a half-assed apology to Naruto for everything he had done over the years.

With a twisted sort of turn of the lips, he realised he probably wouldnt have the same opportunity with Sakura.

Fate was not kind.

As he mused the thought, something caught his attention, swiftly drawing his thoughts elsewhere. On the bed cover laid Sakura’s hand…her pinkie finger twitching.

Once more, Sasuke found himself frozen in place, watching how one finger became two and two became a clenching fist. A soft murmur drew alarmed eyes back to her face.

…To find two hazy green eyes staring back at him.

"Sakura," The name escaped him before he could even think about censoring it - coming out like one breathless exhale.

She blinked at him before her gaze slowly wandered the room.

"Hos-pital," The girl croaked, voice sounding hoarse as she looked back at him.

In that moment, at the achingly familiar tone of her voice, Sasuke felt a weight lift from his shoulders - the feeling so relieving that he sat up a little straighter, barely believing that she was awake and speaking. 

The way his heart beat so heavily against his ribcage was fervently ignored.

Sasuke knew he should call the nurse but something in her gaze kept him in place. Their gazes met once more and a strange sort of unease began to settle in his spine, brows furrowing as hers did the same. He watched her lips form the first syllable of his name before snapping shut.

Something wasnt right.

His mind slowly, unwillingly, fit the pieces together and his sharp eyes flickered back to her expression. However before he could ask, Sakura verbalised his suspicions and Sasuke swore his stomach had never lurched quite so hard.

Fate was not kind, fate was cruel.

"Gomen but…I can’t remember your name," 

Or perhaps this was karma.

x-x-x


End file.
